Department of Performing Arts - Music

The Fuzz Band, whose sound is a fusion of Funk, Jazz & Soul, met and formed while attending Hampton University. The nine-piece band is comprised of 3 vocalists, drums, percussion, keys, guitar, horns and bass, and was originally created as the house band for Fuzzy Wednesday, Virginia’s longest running open mic. Locally, the band has won multiple awards including Best R&B artist, Best Live Performer, Best Album and Song of the Year. Nationally, The Fuzz Band has been featured in the Hollywood Issue of Black Enterprise Magazine and has received nods in Rolling Stone for their 3 USO Tours to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and England and in Spin Magazine for their Chrysler Jeep Campaign. The band has also been reviewed and spotlighted on various online media outlets including OkPlayer, Afropunk and SoulTracks.

The multi-genre band known for its creativity, musicianship and high energy productions has performed with Grammy award winning artists such as Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Chicago, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Sheila E. They have performed private parties for former NBA star Allen Iverson, Hall of "Fame-r" Bruce Smith, and have played internationally for fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger. The band also works in close coordination with NBA Referee Tony Brothers and Men for Hope; and with Kam Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Seattle Seahawks’ Kam Chancellor to help build programs to impact under-served communities in Hampton Roads.

The Fuzz Band, who was the winner of the First Annual Capital Jazz Festival in DC, was also a featured performer at President Barack Obama’s inaugural ball in 2008. They went on to headline the 43rd Annual Hampton Jazz Festival with Frankie Beverly and Maze and was a featured headliner at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City in 2014 and 2016. In 2018, the band won a coveted spot on the main stage of the 5th annual LOCKN’ Festival on the estate of legendary Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, beating out other bands over 3 months and 3 rounds of roving ROCKN’ to LOCKN’ battles. The lineup included George Clinton & P-Funk, Sheryl Crow, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Dead & Co featuring Branford Marsalis, John Mayer and more.

The Fuzz Band is currently working on their 5th studio album and continues to perform virtually to inspire and uplift in anticipation of the return of live music and concert events.

Aaron Reeves is a trumpeter based in Hampton Roads, Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance and Jazz Studies from Christopher Newport University, where he studied with Kelly Rossum.

In 2015, Aaron stepped foot into the professional world by going on tour with the Norfolk band Super Doppler. This tour promoted Super Doppler’s recently released album of original music and featured nearly 100 shows across the east coast from Macon, Georgia to Boston, Massachusetts, and included performances at the LAVA Music Fest, Camp Barefoot Music Festival, and Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival, as well as an opening performance for Huey Lewis and the News in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Following his time at CNU, Aaron did local freelance work until joining the 10-piece horn band Brasswind full-time in late 2018. Performing the music of Chicago, Tower of Power, and Earth, Wind & Fire, Aaron played the Trumpet II book with Brasswind until late 2022. During this time, Brasswind performed at a multitude of weddings and special events, including major local music showcases such as the Yorktown Wine Festival, the Williamsburg Summer Breeze Concert Series, the Summer Concert Series at Port Warwick, and Ynot Wednesdays in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Currently, Aaron is a Jazz Integration Specialist and Brass Teaching Artist for Soundscapes, an El Sistema inspired after school music education program based in Newport News, Virginia.

Shannon Gunn is the Director of the NOVA Nighthawks Jazz Ensemble, Adjunct Instructor of Jazz Trombone at VCU, and an in-demand freelance jazz trombonist. As a musician, she actively uses her music for social justice causes. In 2015 she co-founded, with local non-profit CapitalBop, the Jazz and Freedom Festival, which has in turn raised funds and support for non-profits such as Empower DC, Black Lives Matter DMV, WPFW-FM, and ICE Out of DC. She is the Artistic/Executive Director of non-profit Jazz4Justice, which creates collaborative partnerships between the legal community and music community to raise funds for Legal Aid and jazz studies. In 2019, she founded Jazz Girls Day DC to empower young women to pursue jazz without boundaries from gender.

As a band leader, she has performed at the DC Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center, Castleton Theatre House, Washington Women in Jazz Festival, Takoma Park Jazz Festival, National Jazz Workshop, Bohemian Caverns, Mid Atlantic Jazz Fest, Levine Jazz Fest, Blues Alley, Reunion Music Society, at various TV stations such as DCTV, CBS Morning Show in Richmond, WJLA ABC in DC, and many other venues across DC, Maryland, and Virginia. As a sideperson, she has performed with the Fran Vielma Jazz Orchestra, Vaughn Ambrose, Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, DIVA! Jazz Orchestra, American Festival Pops Orchestra, and toured with Monica Herzig.

She has recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced six albums and self-published her textbook “Introduction to the Recording Arts” on Amazon. She released “What it Takes” in 2017 with a powerhouse all women jazz ensemble, and then “Gunn’s Ablazin” in 2019 with her quintet and organ trio. “Both very artistic and also providing social commentary, the incredible talent present makes it quite easy to see why Gunn was voted Best D.C, Trombonist in two separate years. Similarly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Gunn’s Ablazin’ finds itself being one of the best jazz albums this year.” (From the Take Effect Reviews Blog, 2019) Mike Greenblat’s Rant N’ Roll blog states “this popular Washington D.C. jazzer isn’t afraid to take on a less likable D.C. denizen, the President, as her protest songs, “Babes In Cages Are Not OK” and “Orange Noise” attest. She’s so cool.” She recently premiered her “Immigration Suite” for strings, bass clarinet synth and rhythm section, and is currently working on her newest suite, “5 Questions” for chamber jazz ensemble.

Hailed by the Washington City Paper as “D.C.’s Best Trombonist 2015” and the DistrictNow Blog as “Best Trombonist 2017,” she is known for her exceptional tone and her grandiose project-du-jour. She has a Bachelor of Music Industry from James Madison University, Certificate to Teach K-12 music from Michigan State University, Masters in Jazz Studies from Mason, and a second Masters in Education from Mason. Shannon plays a vintage Bach 16M New York model with lightweight slide and is endorsed by Conn Selmer. She resides in Virginia with her husband, Timothy.